10 Saddest Metal Songs

This is a list of some of my favorite “sad” metal/hardcore/punk songs. Some are angry, some about death or suicide and some just plain sad. Let me know your thoughts and recommend some as well. I tried to compile these songs without Black & Doom metal, since well, they should have their own lists.

10. Snot – “Stoopid”

The tragic story of Snot’s front man, Lynn Strait who died in a 1998 in a car accident, with his dog Dobb’s as well. Snot was an up and coming hard rock/punk/metal act that was sure to explode on the scene. Lynn’s lyrical content was amazing and unfortunately, the band just entering their prime was struck tragically short. Every song on the album “Get Some” was a masterpiece, this is just one of them.

Lyrics:
“Spray the masses with gunfire Foreign pigs will live in fear They never learn Light the match Flames burn higher I need to exterminate the queers My stomach turns Would not heed your worthless cries Strike with fear Cause I won’t wait Your misery Stick your fingers in my eyes Just like somebody blind by hate They cannot see Prompted from my own self doubt I need to hate them because they’re strange They never learn I have plucked my own eyes out I live a life that’s ruled by rage My stomach turns Powered by elders lies Strike with fear Cause I won’t wait Your misery Stick your fingers in my eyes Just like somebody blind by hate No they cannot see Spray the masses with gunfire Foreign pigs will live in fear They never learn Light the match Flames burn higher I need to exterminate the queers My stomach turns Would not heed your worthless cries because Strike with fear Cause I won’t wait Your misery Stick your fingers in my eyes Just like somebody blind by hate They cannot see Just like somebody blind by Just like somebody blind by hate They cannot see I see somebody blind by No, no, no, you cannot Just like somebody blind by Just like somebody blind by Just like somebody blind by hate They cannot see Just like somebody blind by hate You know hey You know they You know they You know they cannot see Just like somebody blind by Just like somebody blind by Just like somebody blind by hate They cannot see Just like somebody blind by Just like somebody blind by Just like somebody blind by hate Because you blind No, no because you blind If you’d open your eyes Then maybe you could see A figment of closed minds You know education is the key Hate sparks will create fire I see you’re STOOPID blind I know you cannot see Prompted from my own selfdoubt I need to hate them because they’re strange They never learn I have plucked my own eyes out (Say WHAT?!) I live a life that’s ruled by rage My stomach turns Powered by elders lies Strike with fear Cause I won’t wait Your misery Stick your fingers in my eyes Just like somebody blind by hate No they cannot see”

9. Motörhead “1916”

This sounds pretty much nothing like the pioneers, but it’s a great war song nonetheless. This is from the heart, powerful and if you watch the video it strikes you even more. I am not a war nut or a patriotic person at all, but this song does catch my eye.

Lyrics:
“16 years old when I went to war, To fight for a land fit for heroes, God on my side,and a gun in my hand, Counting my days down to zero, And I marched and I fought and I bled And I died & I never did get any older, But I knew at the time, That a year in the line, Is a long enough life for a soldier, We all volunteered, And we wrote down our names, And we added two years to our ages, Eager for life and ahead of the game, Ready for history’s pages, And we fought and we brawled And we whored ’til we stood, Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder, A thirst for the Hun, We were food for the gun,and that’s What you are when you’re soldiers, I heard my friend cry, And he sank to his knees, coughing blood As he screamed for his mother And I tell by his, side, And that’s how we died, clinging like kids to each other, And I lay in the mud And the guts and the blood, And I wept as his body grew colder, And I called for my mother And she never came, Though it wasn’t my fault And I wasn’t to blame, The day not half over And ten thousand slain, and now There’s nobody remembers our names And that’s how it is for a soldier”

8. Metallica “Fade To Black”

To be honest, I don’t really like Metallica at all. I am not sure why I never got into them, I think by the time I would have liked them I had already gotten into heavier music. Either way, they did make some great songs, and Ride The Lightning’s “Fade To Black” is one of them. Musically touching, lyrically strong this is a great tune.

Lyrics:
“Life, it seems, will fade away Drifting further every day Getting lost within myself Nothing matters, no one else I have lost the will to live Simply nothing more to give There is nothing more for me Need the end to set me free Things not what they used to be Missing one inside of me Deathly lost, this can’t be real Can’t stand this hell I feel Emptiness is filling me To the point of agony Growing darkness taking dawn I was me, but now he’s gone No one but me can save myself, but it’s too late Now I can’t think, think why I should even try Yesterday seems as though it never existed Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye, Goodbye”

7. Death “Voice of the Soul”

This song, well has no vocals but is one of the best instrumentals I have ever heard. It is not complex just perfect. This probably has more meaning to us metal fans that followed Death for a longer run because every time I hear it it just reminds me of the tragic loss to the scene when their front man, Chuck Schuldiner died in 2001 of Brain Cancer. This is sad instrumental work at its best.

Lyrics:
“None, it is an instrumental”

6. Acid Bath “Screams of The Butterfly”

Acid Bath is best known for is sludge/death/grind mix of metal; however some of their music had a softer side, and that was “Screams of the Butterfly.” The band came to a halt in 1997 when bassist Audie Pitre & his parents were killed by a drunk driver. This is unfortunately one of my favorite bands that I would never get to see while they were around.

Lyrics:
“A creature made of sunshine Her eyes were like the sky Rabid howls like something else as we twitch to her lullaby The scalpel shines in god’s sunshine Street lights whisper pain Down here near the poison stream our god has gone insane She smiles like a child with flowers in her hair With blood on her hands into the sun she stares She feels it die, I heard her cry (verse x2) Like the scream of the butterfly Sunshine a house in flames She likes it where she gets it but it’s never felt the same Surgery in the house of dissection When your candle burns out I will resurrect you She runs through fields of daisies Yeah it’s just a shame that they eat their own babies Who cares cause the air is free When you get there will you kiss the dead for me? There’s blood on the moon and the summer is cold There’s love in the room but baby that’s gettin’ old There’s blood on my face sittin’ on a dead shore A highway of emptiness and I’m gettin’ bored There’s blood on the moon as we plan our escape The goddess in bloom, handcuffed and raped There’s blood in the bathtub, baby, murder the king There’s blood on the moon There’s blood on just about everything Sunshine a house in flames She likes it where she gets it but it’s never felt the same Surgery in the house of dissection When your candle burns out I will resurrect you She runs through fields of daisies Yeah it’s just a shame that they eat their own babies Who cares? ‘Cause the air is free When you get there will you kiss the dead for me? Something cold is forced inside her A tear spills down her cheek Stillborn songs of a dead dreamer Hymns of the needle freak With sunlight in her hair she smiles like she don’t care Her dreams are liquid blue I cut myself again and again to remind myself of you She smiles like a child with flowers in her hair With blood on her hands into the sun she stares She feels it die, I heard her cry (verse x2) Like the scream of the butterfly (x2) I met an angel with a sawed-off shotgun Wanted by the FBI We dropped some acid, killed our parents Then we hit the road Like the scream of the butterfly (x4)”

5. The Banner “I Am Legend”

I don’t think a depressing metal songs list would be complete without one suicidal sad song from The Banner. One of my favorites from the group, although hard to choose from such a big list of sad songs, I would say is “I Am Legend” from Each Breath Haunted. I will just get to the lyrics.

Lyrics:
“All the shadows, all the time, call me to them, Out from the light as I lay buried, burning in time. She was the setting, the weapon, the crime. I am legend, I am the end. These are the killers, they were my friends call me by name, To take my life, gone mad with hunger, but not tonight, they will not have me, Before I die they’ve come for me, my blood their prize the voices curse me, Throughout the night, eyes like lit arrows, fired through the sky. Every evil that I’ve ever known, every voice I was ever shown stalks me at my window, claws at my window. I raise the record player to drown the screams, I black the windows so I cannot see and I face eternity alone – This is my life minutes click like prison bars inside Throughout the night keep track the seconds in my flesh. To clear my mind I keep the cure to my own curse, kept at my side And reality haunts each breath I own Escape through my minds back door or the path just down the road. This house haunted, my sins phantoms, sinners graveyard bleeds through my spine. Six feet by my own hand my own bed to lie in six silver pills in to save my mind. Angel of mercy whispers in my ear, promising everything I’d ever want to hear, Pointing the way passed tattered leather bounds, Towards a promised unseen light via unholy ground… Her name was sunset, she wore no eyes. Her name, in pain, in stone signed. Crimson, marble, midnight sky. We once stood as towers with a summer nights shine But there were answers to questions I just could not find, Questions burning like bridges, Like my bridge to you weighing wings down like ballast And stinging like the truth there’ll be time, In the end to remember this too a long road lies ahead but only for you. So remember me fondly and I’ll do the same These memories a treasure buried deep inside my brain. See I’ve done this too often, and I’ve none left to spend But an empty chests life, is not one to live I’m not angry, I don’t blame you and I hope that you see That I’ll cherish this short time, like the stars above the trees This life is an ocean and I’m lost at sea This life is an ocean and it’s drowning me.”

4. From Autumn To Ashes “Short Stories With Tragic Endings”

I know it’s not metal yadda yadda. I also know I am sure I will get a lot of shit for even mentioning FATA’s name in the list, but the song “Short Stories With Tragic Endings” has stuck with me for 8 years and it will never leave. Too Bad Your Beautiful was a raw powerful metalcore/post hardcore album and the lyrical content of “Short Stories With Tragic Endings” makes this a strong song.

Lyrics:
“Here you stand seething with guilt. Silence only justifies this act of cowardice. The look stapled on your face cries out for forgiveness, The one thing that I cannot give. (Did you ever see that one person And the way they do these things And it hurts you so much it’s like choking choking choking Down the embers) I can give you freedom from your guilt, With a flick of my wrist onto yours. I can give you peace of mind with a forced smile. I can give you death with the look upon my face. This is your freedom in a life of fallacy, With no last kiss and no regrets; You don’t deserve good bye. This is your freedom in a life of fallacy, With no last kiss and no good bye. Here you stand seething with guilt. Silence only justifies this act of cowardice. With a short story, the one you add to daily, you are the tragic loss. No story book ending for this fairy tale of you. Just the one composed with blood taken from your pen that you hold in your lifeless hand. Cry for you. Shed tears. Mourn. Wish the end. Cry for you. Shed tears. Mourn. Wish the end. (Did you ever look, did you ever see that one person, And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much? So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze. It’s that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds. You let this one person come down in the most perfect moment. And it breaks my heart to know the only reason you are here now is A reminder of what I’ll never have I’ll never have… I’ll never… Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in. Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in. But this table for one has become bearable. I now take comfort in this, and for this, I cherish you. Did you ever look, did you ever see that one person And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much? So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze. It’s that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds. And you let this one person come down, come down. I cherish you… I cherish you. Just say you would do the same for me. Just say you would do the same for me. Say you would do the same… Just say you would do the same for me. For as much as I love Autumn, I’m giving myself to Ashes.)”

3. Iced Earth “I Died For You”

Iced Earth’s The Dark Saga in 1996 produced this gem of a tune. “I Died For You” is definitely one of my favorite tracks from the American metal act as well. This one will bring a tear to your eye if at all possible.

Lyrics:
“I can’t believe this now This isn’t what I planned I lived and died and now I just can’t understand With all the love I feel I could never leave you No matter what the cost My soul ‘s the price to see you Oh how I love you The pain won’t go away Oh when I need you You’re always so far away I cry for you Leaving myself to blame I died for you I gave up everything The pain was just too much When I finally saw her She’s happy and in love In love with my best friend What makes it hurt so bad Is that I love them both And they will never know For love I sold my soul Oh how I love you The pain won’t go away Oh when I need you You’re always so far away I cry for you Leaving myself to blame I died for you I gave up everything”

2. Modern Life Is War “Midnight in America”

Modern Life Is War have always been known to put passion to music, but the song, and the entire album go above and beyond what most hardcore bands can do. Unfortunately they broke up in 2008, but Midnight in America will live on in my eyes as one of the best albums, and one of the best songs ever written about true society.

Lyrics:
“I sit on my roof and I smoke. Stare across the street at the funeral home. And drive out past the factories on the gravel roads where it gets so dark. And I can see all the stars and I feel so small ’round midnight. The paper says the whole world is on fire. But this street is quiet. The paper says the whole world is on fire. But this street is quiet… And the silence is the violence of sex and dying in the middle classes. The silence is the violence of sex and dying in the lower classes. The silence is the violence of sex and dying in the upper classes. My love overflows. My skull overflows. But my heart never breaks. We pray for petty things in our petty lives as if god has the time. There is a reason we feel so small when we’ve lost our reason to thrive. Everyone is fucked. Everyone is damned. But no one will open their eyes. Have you ever heard a joke like this before? I raise a toast to a genius god. I live in a big house with all of my friends. I sing these stupid songs. I roam all these highways. I hope it never ends. And when I think about it all it’s almost too much to bear. It’s hell and it opens your eyes. When I think about it all it’s almost too much to bear. It’s heaven and it opens your eyes.”

1. Anathema “One Last Goodbye”

I know I said no doom metal, but to be fair Judgment was released about 3 years after they went more rock. Plus, anyone who doesn’t love this song, and tear up after hearing any piece of this is just made of stone. The song was dedicated to the singer and guitarist’s mother, Helen Cavanagh, who had passed away that same year. This is a great song, a sad song, and a beautiful song.

Lyrics:
“How I needed you How I grieve now you’re gone In my dreams I see you I awake so alone I know you didn’t want to leave Your heart yearned to stay But the strength I always loved in you Finally gave way Somehow I knew you would leave me this way Somehow I knew you could never, never stay And in the early morning light After a silent peaceful night You took my heart away And my being In my dreams I can see you I can tell you how I feel In my dreams I can hold you And it feels so real I still feel the pain I still feel your love I still feel the pain I still feel your love And somehow I knew you could never, never stay And somehow I knew you would leave me And in the early morning light After a silent peaceful night You took my heart away Oh I wish, I wish you could have stayed”

metallica turn the page
king crimson starless
slipknot snuff
slipknot vermillion 3
avenged sevenfold so far away
guns and roses this İ love (romantic song )
metallica hero of the day ( not sad song I just like it 🙂
nirvana something in the way
pentagram for those who died alone
led zeppelin stairway to heaven ( it was our song …